Iran Tells Europe To Abandon Dissident Academic
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran told the European Union not to interfere over the detention of Ramin Jahanbegloo, a binational Canadian-Iranian academic arrested on spying charges in May.
“The E.U. would do well to pay attention to its violations of human rights in Europe and the occupied territories instead of issuing damning statements and interfering in Iran’s internal affairs,” the state-run Iranian News Agency IRNA quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hamid Reza Asefi, as saying.
Finland, which took over the rotating presidency of the European Union on July 1, said in a statement on July 10 that the E.U. was “particularly alarmed” by Mr. Jahanbegloo’s detention. It said he was “well known for his commitment to philosophical and moral principles, non-violence and dialogue.”
Mr. Jahanbegloo has a doctorate from the Sorbonne University in Paris and has written about 20 books on philosophy and political science. His detention prompted protests from human rights groups including the New York-based Human Rights Watch. A group of Iranian academics and political activists also asked for his release.
Intelligence Minister Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei accused Mr. Jahanbegloo earlier this month of fomenting a “velvet revolution” in the Islamic Republic on American orders.
